Hi ,

A lot of us listen to podcasts regularly these days, with every niche interest covered by the 1000s of hours of material you can enjoy/zone out to at the touch of a button. 

This week, perhaps the creepiest iteration of the podcast format has emerged into this oversaturated market. 

An AI-replicated Michael Parkinson is set to host a new podcast featuring a series of completely unscripted interviews with celebrities!

Apparently Parky's family are involved in this latest marker of dystopian descent, with his son hoping audiences enjoy the "cleverness and cheekiness of the concept".

Rest assured any of The Ferret's future podcasts will be hosted by actual real live people, for better or worse...

Yours,

Ali

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Story of the week

An in-depth look at a Ferret investigation

An Angus community councillor and member of the far right Homeland Party has been accused of “abhorrent racism” for arguing that black politicians and footballers are “clearly not” British.

David Gardner, the treasurer of Forfar Community Council, made the comments in videos posted on Homeland’s social media channels in October, prompting a local MSP to call for his dismissal as a councillor.

In his video, Gardner took aim at UK foreign secretary, David Lammy, Conservative Party leadership candidate, Kemi Badenoch, and England footballers Eddie Nketiah and Bukayo Saka, all of whom were born in Britain.

What did we dig up this week?

A round up of our investigations in the last seven days

‘Licence to pollute’? Prosecutions of environmental rule-breakers plummet

Complaints about pollution in Scotland leapt over the last ten years while successful prosecutions of polluters have fallen from 18 to zero, The Ferret can reveal.

Claim just under half of crimes went unsolved last year is Mostly True

On social media, the Scottish Conservatives suggested new crime statistics showed criminals were “reaping the rewards of the SNP’s soft touch on justice”. 

Question of the week

Are polluters in Scotland being properly regulated?

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Best of the rest

Investigations we've enjoyed from around the world

Congo calls off oil and gas auction following allegations of backroom deals

The decision follows revelations that the auction process had been plagued with apparent preferential treatment and backroom deals. (Bureau)

US election skeptics are targeting voting officials with ads that suggest they don’t have to certify results

The ads, which have been placed in swing states like Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, come from a group with ties to activists who have challenged election results. (ProPublica)

‘Hair is more than strands. It symbolises life’: the braids that bind an Ecuadorian community

In Otavalo the men, as well as women, see their long hair as integral to the beliefs and culture of the Kichwa people. (Guardian)

Any comments? Have you seen something we could include? Email us at contact@theferret.scot.

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